The present invention relates generally to underwater photography and more specifically to a system for composing and focusing and aiming a hand-held underwater camera system for close-up and macro photography.
Underwater photography can provide excitement and challenge for scuba divers in capturing on film the myriad of life forms and other photography subjects underwater. Several underwater camera systems are commercially available including Nikonos brand systems, Sea & Sea brand systems, and other systems for still and video cameras including those using an outer housing encasing a land camera. Close-up and macro photography offer exciting opportunities for the underwater photographer since many of the fish and other subjects are better formatted using close-up and/or macro equipment.
Typically, close-up and/or macro equipment includes supplementary lens systems and/or extension tubes as are known in the art. However, such systems have a notably shallow depth of field and, due to parallax problems with the viewfinder, present difficulties for a scuba diver wearing a scuba mask in composing and focusing on underwater photography subjects. It is believed that a substantial percentage of underwater photographs which are taken are not suitably focused or composed due to these problems, resulting in the loss of a considerable number of potentially quality photographs.
The prior art approach is the use of a system utilizing either a wand and framer, a wand and goal post, or simply a wand to provide a physical reference point to define the picture area for the underwater photographer. For example, the Nikonos system uses a wand and framer. The wand is mounted to the underside of a close-up lens, projecting forwardly the focusing distance of the lens. The framer is attached to the distal end of the wand and provides a rigid frame around and defining the picture area.
These focusing and composing systems, while providing acceptable results in some circumstances, create significant problems. For example, such framers and/or wands are by design readily visible under water and, accordingly, tend to frighten sensitive tropical fish, making it extremely difficult to take their picture. Literature in the industry suggests a great deal of time and patience is required to lure such subjects into the framer, such as with bait, to be photographed. Accordingly, it would be desirable to have a system which facilitates luring the fish into the picture area without spooking the fish.
Additionally, these wand and wand and framer systems are typically rigid structures. There is a problem caused by underwater photographers jamming these rigid devices into ecologically fragile coral reefs, sponges and other life forms. This results in damage to the environment and/or bending of the rigid framers. Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide a system which does not utilize rigid structures which damage the system or the delicate undersea environment.
Some literature indicates that these shortcomings are significant enough that the wand and framer should be completely removed, and the photographer instead should rely on various estimates (such as using the photographer's arm length as a substitute wand) to avoid these problems.
The present invention overcomes these disadvantages while providing an excellent system for aiming, composing and focusing a hand-held underwater camera system at close range.